100 Years Ago — 1919

Bridge to be

celebrated

To celebrate the completion of the bridge constructed by the Interstate Construction Company of Newport across the Upper West Branch of Priest River, a dance will be held by Foreman Straasland, engineer Ewing and the crew that built the bridge. Music and a sumptuous lunch will be furnished by the builders. The dance promises to be unique in that it will be held 50 feet above the bed of a brisk mountain stream with the sky for a roof and a splendid forest of virgin timber for a setting.

90 Years Ago — 1929

Vay fire spreading

A fire breaking out Monday in the vicinity of Vay has been spreading rapidly and is completely out of control.

High winds have spread the fire over a large front. The wind is carrying the blaze toward Lake Cocolalla where it is hoped it can be held. Several ranches are immediately in danger.

Doing assessment work

The three Judge brothers of Spokane are now engaged with a large force of men doing assessment work on the Tiger Mine in the Pine Creek mining district.

80 Years Ago — 1939

Bear threatens woman

Mrs. Wm. Kavanaugh, living in the West Branch country, decided to seek cooler quarters on a hot day and walked into the deep woods near her place.

As she was walking a path, she noticed a movement in the brush. She advanced a few steps and a bear jumped out at her and took one mighty swing, missing her by a few inches. The bear tore out a large sapling and put up such noise and fuss that Mrs. Kavanaugh was not long in getting out of the woods. She notes this was her first encounter with a bear and she hopes it will be her last.

70 Years Ago — 1949

Road stretch oiled

The new stretch of Priest Lake highway from High Bridge to Nordman has had its first coat of oi and will be completed within a few days.

60 Years Ago — 1959

Lamanna advances

Mike Lamanna, principal of the local high school since 1946, will become the new assistant superintendent of the Bonner County Class A School District No. 82. He will succeed Mrs. Gertrude Bower of Sandpoint who resigned earlier this month after 49 years in the field of education.

50 Years Ago — 1969

Georgia-Pacific buying sawmills

Purchase of the Hedlund Lumber Company holdings in the Inland Empire by Georgia-Pacific Corp. was reported in the August issue of the National Timber Industry publication. Officials of neither entity have commented, but the Portland publication said in the story that Georgia-Pacific “is reported to have bought the Lee Hedlund sawmill operations.” Hedlund has lumber operations in Priest River, Cusick, Ione and Chilco, and at its headquarters site in Sandpoint.

40 Years Ago — 1979

Sad day for schools

A $14.3 million plant facility levy was soundly defeated by patrons of Bonner County School District No. 82. By a two-to-one majority, voters turned down a 10-year, 15-mill levy to build and repair buildings in the local school system. Only three schools in Sandpoint approved the levy, and Blanchard turned in the lowest number of yes votes — 3, to 74 negative.

30 Years Ago — 1989

Groups restore lookout

For the third year in a row, volunteer crews descended and ascended by foot, horse and helicopter on Little Snowy Top Lookout to complete restoration work on the 50-plus year-old structure.

The 17 volunteers were from the Spokane Mountaineers, Priest River Back Country Horsemen, and the Priest Lake Ranger District.

20 Years Ago — 1999

New tree killer trapped

The Douglas fir bark beetle has dominated the environmental and forest management scene lately, but the Forest Service is getting ready for another tree predator making a potential comeback — the Douglas fir tussock moth, found in two traps behind the Newport Ranger District office last week.

10 Years Ago — 2009

First mussels found

The state caught its first mussels attached to a boat at an inspection at Oldtown, according to the Idaho Conservation League. Two tiny muscles were discovered on the boat when it rolled into Idaho last week, the ICL posted on its website.